At least 844,000 jobs created last year, data shows

 

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics informal sector has  created majority of the jobs 

The Kenyan economy created 844,100 new jobs in 2023 as the economy expanded by 5.6pc.

According to the 2024 Economic Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics informal sector created majority of the jobs with 721,000 while the formal sector created 123,000 jobs.

National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary Prof Njuguna Ndungu says, this year’s growth is likely to be dragged by various shocks like the the ongoing floods and supply-side shocks due to global geo-politics.

Early this year the treasury projected the economy to expand by 5.5 in 2024.

The 2023 economy survey attributes the increased growth of the economy to the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors that cumulatively contributed 19.8pc to the GDP, owing to favorable weather conditions experienced in 2023 as well as the government’s intervention through the subsidized fertilizer programme.

This notwithstanding, the bureau further notes that the economy may be hampered by risks related to unpredictable weather patterns that could negatively affect agricultural production increasing inflation pressures.

The growth was boosted by an increase in the total amount of tea produced in 2023 that increased to 570.3 tonnes from the previous years 535.0 tonnes.

The quantity of marketed milk also rose to 6.9pc from 754.3 million litres in 2022 to 806.6 million litres in 2023.

Earnings from fresh horticulture exports increased from Ksh 146.1 billion in 2022 to Ksh 147.2 billion  in 2023.

KNBS also accounted for an increase in the volume of exported fruits that grew by 44.1pc to 188,100 metric tonnes.

The area planted and restocked with trees doubled from 1.2 thousand hectares in 2022 to 2.4 thousand hectares in 2023 occasioned by the President’s National Tree Planting initiative. Under the fishing sector, the value of fish production from fresh-water sources contributed the highest share of the total value of fish landed in 2023 by 72.4pc to Ksh 126.0 billion.

The Financial and Insurance sectors came in at the second spot contributing 16.1pc to the country’s GDP.

The survey indicates that total domestic credit recorded a growth rate of 12.7pc to Ksh 7.04 trillion compared to 1212pc recorded in 2022 due to the inflation rate remaining within set targets during the period under review, while Foreign Direct Investments increased.

Further, the survey notes that the insurance sub-sector grew by 12.7pc as compared to 12.4pc in 2022.

Under this, Net premiums from life assurance and general assurance expanded by 16pc and 7pc respectively in 2023 on the back of increased uptake of insurance covers.

The real estate sector was the third highest contributor to the economy at 13.3pc. The number of housing units completed under the affordable housing program was up 3,357 from 1,390.

Expenditure on housing also grew to Ksh 92.5 billion in the 2023/2024 financial year, an increase from Ksh 9.1 billion from the previous period.

Despite the growth reflected, some sectors significantly declined with mining and quarrying reflecting the biggest decline by 4.3pc from Ksh 35.2 billion in 2022 to Ksh 33.7 billion in 2023.

Additionally, the depletion of titanium ore mined by Kwale-based Base Titanium has seen a drop in mineral production.

Soda ash production also recorded a 25.2pc decrease from 321,800 tonnes in 2022 to 240,800 tonnes in 2023.

The construction sector was also significantly affected as it slowed down to 3pc in 2023 as compared to 4.1pc in 2022.

This is anchored on decline in key inputs in the construction industry such as cement consumption that slumped due to low building activities from the private sector as well as increased taxes on imports of iron and steel.

By Nduta Mukami